Systems and methods for optimizing broadcasts

ABSTRACT

Optimizing a power level for a transmission so that the transmission is receivable at or near a destination, but no farther, is useful for reduced-power transmissions. Taking into account known distance for the transmission as determined by onboard GPS and geographic databases, a power level may be set more precisely. Accounting for atmospheric conditions which may impact transmission as determined by onboard or received measurements of temperature, solar or other conditions may also permit a power level to be set more precisely. An obstruction database may be consulted to determine whether transmissions will degrade due to objects in between the transmitter and receiver, permitting power level, frequency, bandwidth or transmit/receive location to be adjusted accordingly. The techniques may be implemented in any signal transmission scenario including mobile telephones, aircraft, marine or other vehicle radios, mobile devices with Wi-Fi radios for network computing, stationary radios, and other situations requiring communications.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This invention claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent applicationSer. No. 61/561,258 filed Nov. 17, 2011 (our ref. GIBB-1-1001). Theforegoing application is incorporated by reference in its entirety as iffully set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to broadcasts, and more specifically,to systems and methods for optimizing broadcasts.

BACKGROUND

Advances in integration make possible new ways of optimizingtransmissions, through incorporating real-time (or near real-time)information not previously readily accessible, enabling decision-makingand real-time (or near real-time) adjustments in transmissionoperations.

SUMMARY

An embodiment provides a method that includes determining a destinationfor a broadcast. The method also includes receiving at least onesignaling parameter associated with a condition affecting the broadcast.The method also includes adjusting at least one broadcasting parameterfor optimizing reception of the broadcast at the destination. The methodmay include determining a geographic range surrounding a point forreception of a broadcast. The method may include receiving GPScoordinates associated with at least one of the transmitter of thebroadcast or the destination of the broadcast. The method may includereceiving at least one air temperature associated with at least one ofthe transmitter of the broadcast or the destination of the signalbroadcast. The method may include receiving at least one atmosphericcondition associated with at least one of the transmitter of thebroadcast or the destination of the signal broadcast. The method mayinclude receiving at least one interference condition associated with atleast one of the transmitter of the signal broadcast or the destinationof the signal broadcast. The method may include receiving one or more atleast partial obstructions associated with at least one path between thetransmitter of the signal broadcast or the destination of the signalbroadcast. The method may include receiving at least one altitudeassociated with at least one of the transmitter of the broadcast or thedestination of the broadcast. The method may include receiving at leastone density of the medium through which the broadcast is transmittedbetween the transmitter of the broadcast and the destination of thebroadcast. The method may include receiving from one or more of adatabase associated with the hardware, a sensor associated with thehardware, or at least one other transmission at least one signalingparameter associated with a condition affecting the broadcast. Themethod may include adjusting one or more signal strengths for thebroadcast. The method may include adjusting one or more frequencybandwidths for the broadcast. The method may include adjusting one ormore frequencies for the broadcast. In an alternate embodiment, themethod may further include determining at least one alternatedestination for the broadcast. In addition to the foregoing, othermethod embodiments are described in the claims, drawings and text thatform a part of the present application.

An embodiment provides a method that includes receiving an areaassociated with transmitted broadcasts. The method also includesdetermining a minimum signal strength corresponding with the area. Themethod also includes adjusting a receive selectivity for filteringbroadcasts below the minimum signal strength. The method may includedetermining a geographic range surrounding a point for transmittedbroadcasts, the geographic range including points from which transmittedbroadcasts are not filtered. The method may include adjusting a receiveselectivity for a receiver based at least in part on the distancebetween the receiver and a geographic point. The method may includedetermining a minimum signal strength corresponding with the area basedat least in part on one or more of a temperature, an atmosphericcondition, a density associated with a medium through which thebroadcasts are transmitted, a frequency bandwidth, a frequency, analtitude, or an at least partial obstruction. The method may includereceiving from one or more of a database associated with the hardware, asensor associated with the hardware, or at least one other transmissionat least one signaling parameter associated with a condition affectingthe broadcast, and determining a minimum signal strength correspondingwith the area based at least in part on the at least one signalingparameter, including at least one or more of a temperature, anatmospheric condition, a density associated with a medium through whichthe broadcasts are transmitted, a frequency bandwidth, a frequency, analtitude, or an at least partial obstruction. In addition to theforegoing, other method embodiments are described in the claims,drawings and text that form a part of the present application.

A system for transmitting or receiving optimized broadcasts includes atleast one of a means for transmitting a broadcast or a means forreceiving a broadcast. The system also includes a means for determiningat least one signaling parameter associated with a condition affectingthe broadcast. The system also includes a means for adjusting one ormore of a signal strength, a frequency, a frequency bandwidth, a receivesensitivity, or a destination for a broadcast. In addition to theforegoing, other system embodiments are described in the claims,drawings and text that form a part of the present application.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be inany way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodimentsand features described above, further aspects, embodiments and featureswill become apparent by reference to the drawings and the followingdetailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below withreference to the following drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an operational flow, in accordance withan embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the operational flow ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates another alternative embodiment of the operationalflow of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an operational flow, in accordance witha alternate embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates another alternative embodiment of the operationalflow of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example system, in accordance with an embodimentof the invention;

FIGS. 7 a and 7 b depict an exemplary environment in which an embodimentof the invention may be implemented; and

FIGS. 8 a and 8 b depict an additional exemplary environment in which adifferent embodiment of the invention may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This invention relates generally to broadcasts, and more specifically,to systems and methods for optimizing broadcasts. Specific details ofcertain embodiments of the invention are set forth in the followingdescription and FIGS. 1-8 b to provide a thorough understanding of suchembodiments. The present invention may have additional embodiments, maybe practiced without one or more of the details described for anyparticular described embodiment, or may have any detail described forone particular embodiment practiced with any other detail described foranother embodiment.

Vehicles may be equipped with communication radios. Airplanes have VHFcommunications transceivers, such as the King KX-155, used for pilots tocommunicate with air traffic controllers, other aircraft, or stations onthe ground. Police cars, ambulances, fire trucks and other emergencyvehicles may have Motorola radios used for officers and emergencyworkers to communicate with their base or with occupants of othervehicles. Truckers may use a Citizens Band (C.B.) radio to communicatewith other truckers and with truck stops. A vehicle equipped with acommunication radio may even include an individual in a car with acellular telephone. Watercraft, including ships and submarines, may haveradio equipment. A communication radio may even be used outside of avehicle, by a police patrolman on foot, or by a walker or stationaryindividual talking on a cellular phone.

A radio may be used to broadcast signals for other than verbalcommunications. For example, an aircraft navigational radio may receivesignals sent from a ground station including signals providingnavigational information, where the signals do not contain words and arenot ordinarily decipherable by a human as language. Mobile devices mayinclude Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11, for example) radios which transmitpacketized bit data usable for computing or other purposes. Groundstations may similarly transmit signals with data contained in modulatedor otherwise encoded transmissions. A smartphone may receive cellularpacket data using technologies such as 3G or LTE.

Vehicles may be further equipped with GPS receivers. A GPS receiver canpinpoint a location in terms of latitude, longitude, altitude, and/orother measures of location. GPS receivers provide location informationfor aircraft, passenger cars, police and other public safety vehicles,etc. Handheld GPS receivers may be used by walkers to establishlocation. Some vehicles may have other sources of location information.An aircraft, for example, may have an altimeter in addition to a GPSreceiver. Cellular phones may have integrated GPS receivers.

A GPS receiver is often combined with a geographical database to providenavigation information, topographical features, data about geographiclandmarks and other such data. For example, a car equipped with a GPSreceiver and geographical database can utilize the equipment to providedriving directions to a driver. The same equipment can provideinformation about landmarks or facilities to the driver, such as thelocation of a nearby ATM. In an aircraft, the GPS receiver andgeographical database can provide a safe navigational route by air foran airplane to safely arrive at an airport without having inadvertentlyflown into nearby terrain. When flying an instrument approach, a pilotcan utilize the GPS receiver and geographical database to be aware ofthe distance and bearing to the airport while maintaining an awarenessof surrounding mountains, buildings or other geographical features fromwhich the aircraft must maintain a safe distance. Drivers may use a GPSwith geographical database in the automobile for driving directions to aparticular destination. A walker may use a smartphone with a GPS andgeographical database for walking directions to a particulardestination. Some GPS systems can make use of the Wide Area AugmentationSystem (WAAS) to provide a more precise location.

Vehicles may further be equipped with receivers configured to receiveinformation about weather. Aircraft may have a radio receiver capable ofreceiving current weather information transmitted by satellite byoperators such as XM. Ground-based weather receivers are available, asare portable receivers that could be carried by a walker. Temperaturescan also be sensed by a thermometer installed in a vehicle.

Operators of communication radios, whether the radio is in a vehicle orcarried by a walker, may have issues of signal strength to manage. The“strength” of a radio transmission, or the power with which that radiotransmission is transmitted, dictates in part how far away thattransmission may be heard by a radio receiver. For example, a 10 Wattradio may transmit radio signals farther than an aircraft equipped witha 5 Watt radio. Radio signals are typically transmitted with fixedstrengths for all transmissions, irrespective of the distance over whichthe transmission is intended to be carried.

Accordingly, a ground-based operator at Point A who wishes to transmit asignal intended to be received by another ground-based operator at PointB will likely transmit a signal that is stronger than necessary. In someinstances, the signal generated by the ground-based operator at Point Awill be transmitted and be able to be received much further away thanthe ground-based operator at Point B.

The distance over which a transmission may be heard is also impacted bytopographical features, among other things. Many radio signals are “lineof sight,” meaning that if there is a mountain in between Point A andPoint B, the signal from Point A may not be able to be received at PointB. If either transmitter A or receiver B is sufficiently elevated,however, over the top of the topographical feature, the radiotransmission of Point A may be within the line of sight of Point B suchthat it may be heard at Point B.

Other aspects which impact reception of a radio signal includeinterference from other facilities. It may be, for example, that if alow-power radio signal is being broadcast from Point A, which isadjacent to a commercial radio station transmitting at a frequency rangeclose to that of the signal from Point A, the radio signal from Point Ais degraded due to interference from the commercial radio station suchthat Point A's signal may not be received at Point B. Interference mayalso be in the form of atmospheric conditions, as will be discussedinfra, or in the form of solar or magnetic interference. Suchinterference may be predicted or detected and information about theinterference may be relayed to the radio so that adjustments accountingfor the interference may be made. The interference may also be detectedby the radio station in order to adjust accordingly.

Atmospheric conditions, including cloud cover and/or ambient airtemperature may also impact transmission and reception of radio signals.The density of the transmission medium through which the signal is beingbroadcast may affect transmission and reception of radio signals. Thismay be in part due to an atmospheric condition or a partial obstruction.The conditions of the transmission medium may vary in between the sourceand destination of the broadcast. Consider, for example, a transmissionfrom a submarine 500 feet below sea level to a satellite in orbit, inwhich the transmission medium includes water for a portion of thetransmission distance, as well as air, all having varying ambienttemperatures and densities. These conditions may be sensed usingsensors, referenced using databases local or remote to the transmitteror receiver, predicted using computational methods, or received in nearreal-time from other sources of information regarding the conditions.

In some instances, where many radio users transmit on the samefrequency, there can be competition for the frequency. In the example ofaircraft landing at a particular airport, the airport will be assigned asingle radio frequency for all users to utilize. All pilots landing atthat airport will use the same frequency to send radio transmissionscontaining information about their position relative to the airport, andtheir intention. At a tower-controlled airport, all pilots landing atthat airport will use the same frequency to talk an air trafficcontroller, and the air traffic controller will use that same frequencyto talk to the pilots.

A rule of thumb is for a pilot landing at a particular airport to begintransmitting position and intentions from 8 to 12 miles away from theairport. However, depending on a host of conditions, if that pilotbegins transmitting 10 miles away from the airport, that signal can beheard many miles beyond the airport. If the aircraft is low to theground, the signal may only be heard within a 15 mile radius includingthe airport. However, if the aircraft is higher, the signal may carry 80miles or more.

In some instances, a particular radio frequency is assigned for use atmultiple airports. Two, three and even more airports within close rangegeographically can all be assigned the same radio frequency. There are alimited number of radio frequencies which may be assigned, and there aremore airports than there are available frequencies. Therefore it isnecessary to reuse frequency assignments. Consequently, three airportswithin 100 miles of one another, for example airports F, G and H, mayall have the same frequency assigned. Pilots intending to land atairport F and transmitting their intentions while 10 miles away maytransmit a signal that can be heard by pilots in the vicinity ofairports G and H. This is inconvenient for pilots in the vicinity ofairports G and H. Since only one pilot may transmit and beunderstandably received by other pilots at a time, if a pilot at airportF is transmitting, a pilot at airport G may be blocked from sending atransmission.

Radios incorporate a squelch, or selectivity, feature. With a squelchcontrol, a threshold is established for permitting a transmission to beheard by the user. The squelch can be adjusted to let only the strongestsignals to be heard by the user, or to permit all signals including veryweak signals to be heard. The squelch is a filter, such that onlytransmissions above the signal strength established by the squelchcontrol are heard over the radio's speaker. If a user intends to hearsignals from far away, the signals from far away most likely being theweakest signals, the user can “lower the squelch” so that the filteringis reduced and signals from far away are heard over the speaker. If auser only wants to hear stronger signals that are likely close by, theuser may raise the squelch so that only those strong signals are heardover the speaker.

However, operating the squelch to filter out distant transmissions whilestill permitting closer transmissions to be heard is imprecise. It is amanual process, and it requires the operator to be listening to adistant signal while adjusting the squelch until that distant signal isfiltered out. That requires the distant signal to be transmitted at thetime the squelch is being adjusted, which is beyond the control of thereceiver. Further, as the pilot gets closer to an airport, the radiooperator may desire further squelch adjustment to change theselectivity, accounting for the change in position relative to theairport.

This is also an imprecise method of filtering out transmissions whichmay or may not be pertinent to a particular listener. Many factors otherthan distance impact signal strength. While it is true that a squelchcontrol that filters out lower signal strength transmissions may blocksignals that originate further away in terms of latitude and longitude,it is possible that pilots at a higher altitude who transmit maygenerate a signal of a higher signal strength which overcomes thesquelch.

Differently, police officers in city J may share a frequency with policeofficers in city K, where cities J and K are 50 miles apart andtransmissions from officers in city J are not desired to be heard incity K. All of the radios in the patrol cars of city K have theirsquelch control adjusted such that transmissions from city J arefiltered out, the transmissions from city J being lower quality signalstrength transmissions by the time they are received in city K. However,city J includes a 7000′ mountain, and patrol cars occasionally aredispatched to the top of the mountain. When a patrolman in a car on topof the mountain in city J transmits, that transmission is of a higherquality signal strength by the time it is received in city K, and it isnot filtered by the squelch setting of the radios in city K's cars.

In a different example, cellular telephones transmit and receive incommunication with a cellular tower. When close to a particular tower, acellular telephone when transmitting a signal to a cellular tower maybroadcast a signal that is stronger than needed. The telephone mayunnecessarily transmit a signal that may be able to be received by moredistant towers even when there is a tower in the more immediatevicinity. Transmitting such a strong signal may utilize unnecessarypower, where a weaker broadcast adequate to communicate with theadjacent cellular tower would suffice. In a cellular telephone, which isbattery powered, such unnecessarily strong broadcasts might result inexcess drain on the phone's battery, where a reduction in transmissionpower to a power still sufficient to reach the nearby tower might resultin an overall reduction in use of battery power.

Similarly, a Wi-Fi radio installed in a laptop computer which is incommunication with an access point may broadcast a signal at a higherpower than is needed when the access point is nearby. The Wi-Fi radio inthe laptop located near an access point could transmit at a lower powerif it was aware of the location and distance to the nearby access point.Such a lower power transmission could conserve battery life of thelaptop. Alternatively, the Wi-Fi network may select the access point forcommunications with a mobile device in accordance with the location,distance or by reference to other transmission conditions disclosedelsewhere herein.

Given the plethora of location, geography, weather, atmospheric,obstruction and other information now available within close proximityto or internal to radio communication equipment, such information couldbe provided to and/or integrated with radio communication equipment tooptimize radio transmission and reception taking into account location,topography, landmarks and other geographic features, and/or atmosphericand temperature conditions.

An airplane with a communications radio could integrate location from aGPS receiver with the communications radio. The airplane with thecommunications radio could further have integrated weather from asatellite weather receiver, temperature from an installed thermometer,and/or topographic or landmark information from a navigation database.Integrating the reception of information about location, atmosphericconditions, and topographic/landmark information would facilitate thedetermination of an optimal transmission power or optimal selectivity orsquelch setting for reception. A cellular smartphone with a GPS receiverand a mapping database for providing navigation could be easilyprovisioned with the location of cellular towers. Similar integrationcould be performed with vehicle radios for police cars, trucks or othervehicles and for handheld radios. Also, Wi-Fi radios integrated into alaptop computer with GPS may be able to access a database containinglocations of wireless access points to set an appropriate transmitpower.

Further, upon a determination that a particular transmission between asource and destination may be overly burdened by unfavorable conditions,an alternate destination may be selected. Such selection may be from theaforementioned onboard location database or from another source.

Given constantly varying conditions, a transmission may be subject tointerference and require retrying for the transmission to be completedsuccessfully. In some scenarios, a particular number of retries may beacceptable. In some scenarios, a power level can be boosted to lessenthe likely number of retries necessary.

Multicast technologies may include a source broadcasting a transmissionthat is intended to be received at multiple locations. In somescenarios, conditions affecting the broadcast as disclosed above mayvary dependent upon conditions between the transmitter and the variousreception locations. A multicast transmission may be segmented andoperationally varied according to the segments using techniquesdisclosed herein. In a simple, non-limiting example, a broadcaster maytransmit a signal directed to the east at one power and to the west at adifferent power. The broadcaster may vary the frequency bandwidth,sending a narrower broadcast to the east and a wider broadcast to thewest (wherein narrower implies a smaller portion of the frequencyspectrum and wider implies a greater portion, whether contiguous ornon-contiguous, of the frequency spectrum).

Altering the choice of frequency spectrum over which the signal isbroadcast may also affect the quality of the transmission within themeaning of the instant application. Even in a unicast environment, wherethe signal is intended for a single destination, the broadcaster mayvary the frequency bandwidth as dictated by conditions, sending anarrower broadcast or a wider broadcast (wherein narrower implies asmaller portion of the frequency spectrum and wider implies a greaterportion, whether contiguous or non-contiguous, of the frequencyspectrum). The broadcaster may use different signal strengths,frequencies, or bandwidths (contiguous or non-contiguous) for differenttransmissions to the same or different recipients, dependent onconditions relating to the broadcast determined in real-time or nearreal-time.

A broadcaster may choose an alternate transmission medium or station,depending on conditions, including a different transmitter. For example,a cellular network operator with multiple cell sites in its network maydetermine a particular cell site for completing a transmission to aparticular cellular phone based upon conditions detected in real-time ornear real-time. A cellular system may detect that a subscriber is within1000 meters of cellular tower A as a straight-line distance, and within1500 meters of cellular tower B as a straight-line distance, and chooseto complete the transmission via cellular tower B due to a detected orknown interference condition associated with the path between thesubscriber and cellular tower A. Or, a broadcaster could select a fiberoptic connection for 90% of the transmission length and a wirelessconnection for the remaining 10% in one scenario where wirelessinterference was heavy, but reverse these percentages in operationswhere wireless availability is good.

A “radio” as used herein refers without limitation to a device capableof transmitting or receiving, including without limitation a VHF radio,an AM or FM radio, a shortwave radio, a medium wave radio, a cellularphone, a smartphone, a pager, a walkie-talkie, a handheld radio, atransmitting station, a satellite, a packet radio, a television, a wireddevice connected by copper, fiber, solid conductor, stranded conductoror other non-wireless medium, a Wi-Fi or 802.11 radio, a spread-spectrumradio, a frequency hopping radio, a direct sequence radio, a radio whichsends and/or receives electromagnetic waves, and/or a device which sendsand/or receives optical signals. A “radio” may include a single ormultiple transmitters and/or receivers. Within the meaning of theinstant application, a “radio” is a device communicating voice, data orother signals operating by electromagnetic radiation whichsystematically changes and/or modulates some property of the radiatedwaves, such as their amplitude, frequency, phase, or pulse width,wherein the transmission medium may be air or a conductor such as awire, antenna or other signal-bearing medium.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an operational flow associated withoptimizing broadcasts. FIG. 1 and several following figures may includevarious examples of operations flows, discussions and explanations withrespect to the above-described embodiments. However, it should beunderstood that the operational flows may be executed in a number ofother environments and contexts, and/or in modified versions of FIG. 1.Also, although the various operational flows are illustrated in asequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may beperformed in other orders than those which are illustrated, and/or maybe performed concurrently.

After a start operation, the operational flow 100 includes a determiningoperation 110. The determining operation determines a destination for abroadcast. The destination for a broadcast may be a particular cellulartower with which a cellular telephone will communicate. Alternatively, adestination for a broadcast may be a particular geographic location.Importantly, a destination for a broadcast does not necessarily requirethat there be a receiver or reception equipment associated with thedestination. A transmitter could be broadcasting with the intention thatany reception equipment at the destination be able to receive thebroadcast. In some embodiments, determining a destination for abroadcast may include receiving the name of a destination airport, acellular system, an SSID for a wireless network, a geographic locationsuch as a city, a particular frequency or another entity associated witha destination which may be desired for a transmission.

The operational flow 100 also includes a receiving operation 130. Thereceiving operation receives at least one signaling parameter associatedwith a condition affecting the broadcast. A signaling parameter mayinclude an indication of one or more particular conditions that mayimpact transmission of the broadcast and/or reception of the broadcastat a particular destination, the conditions being described elsewhereherein. Receiving the signaling parameter may refer to a sensor which isintegrated with the radio or operatively coupled with the radio sensingthe condition in real-time or near real-time. In a simple, non-limitingexample, the radio may have an integrated temperature sensor, so acurrent ambient air temperature at the radio may be sensed. The radiomay also or alternatively have a Global Positioning System (GPS)receiver integrated with the radio, or another device capable ofproviding a geographic location or other reference location of the radiorelative to some geographical feature, including LORAN, GLONASS,inertial navigation, etc. Receiving the signaling parameter may alsorefer to a lookup in a database which is integrated with the radio oroperatively coupled with the radio in real-time or near real-time.Receiving the signaling parameter may include receiving the signalingparameter via a transmission medium, such as a weather broadcast via anXM satellite radio broadcast which includes a temperature at thetransmitter and/or the receiver. Receiving the signaling parameter mayinclude detecting the signaling parameter from a previous transmissionby the same radio or another radio. For example, a signal strength of anincoming transmission from a known transmitter at a known point at aknown transmit power may be used to estimate other conditions related tothe transmission. Receiving the signaling parameter may include adatabase lookup. For example, a sunrise or sunset time for a particularlatitude and longitude may be retrieved from a database, whether thedatabase is internal to the radio, operatively coupled with the radio orremotely located with respect to the radio.

The operational flow also includes an adjusting operation 150. Theadjusting operation includes adjusting at least one broadcastingparameter for optimizing reception of the broadcast at the destination.For example, a signal strength for a transmission may be set in light ofthe distance for the transmission, where the distance is determined inreal-time or near real-time using GPS coordinates from a GPS internal tothe radio and geographical coordinates for the destination ascertainedthrough a database lookup. The signal strength may be adjusted so as tobroadcast the signal as far as the destination and no further,accounting for conditions such as temperature, obstructions or otherfactors disclosed elsewhere herein. Alternatively, a frequency, set offrequencies or a frequency bandwidth may be selected according at leastin part to the signal parameters.

At least one of the determining operation 110, receiving operation 130or adjusting operation 150 is at least partially implemented inhardware. The hardware may include a radio transmitter for which asignal strength is selected for a particular transmission according tothe adjusting operation 150. The determining operation 110 may include adestination for a broadcast may include, for example, a user inputting adestination through a keypad integrated with the radio or by using acombination of knobs and push-buttons. The receiving operation 130 mayinclude referencing a database to receive a weather report storedrecently in the database or a latitude and longitude of a destinationfor a transmission, where the database is encoded and stored in anon-transitory computer-readable medium internal to the radio. Theforegoing examples of aspects of the invention which may be at leastpartially implemented in hardware are exemplary only and meant to benon-limiting.

FIG. 2 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the operational flow 100of FIG. 1. The operational flow may include one or more of an optionaloperation 112, an optional operation 132, an optional operation 132, anoptional operation 134, an optional operation 136, an optional operation138, an optional operation 142, an optional operation 144, an optionaloperation 144, or an optional operation 148, in accordance with variousembodiments of the invention.

The optional operation 112 may include determining a geographic rangesurrounding a point for reception of a broadcast. A destination for aparticular transmission may be a particular geographic point, and nofurther. The destination for a particular transmission may also includea range surrounding a particular geographic point. In some environments,a buffer, or error-correcting or “fudge factor” may be added to therange for the transmission, such that the transmission propagates adistance beyond the destination point. The “fudge factor” may beprovided to account for inaccuracies in sensing the parameter, or toaccount for a delay in receipt of information (a time-delayed weatherreport, for example) during which delay conditions may have changed. Indifferent environments, a transmission may be intended for an areasurrounding a particular point, where any receiving equipment withinthat area could receive the transmission. For example, in the example ofan aircraft approaching a particular destination airport, a pilot maydesire to broadcast his or her intentions upon arriving at that airportto any other aircraft in the vicinity. Accordingly, the desired area forthe transmission to be received could be a 12 mile radius ringsurrounding the destination airport, which represents the geographicrange surrounding a point for reception of the broadcast. If theaircraft's present location is 20 miles from the destination airport andthe pilot wishes a broadcast to be heard everywhere within a 12 milering, the broadcast may be adjusted so as to transmit 32 miles away (20miles to the destination airport plus another 12 mile radius).

The optional operation 132 may include receiving GPS coordinatesassociated with at least one of the transmitter of the broadcast or thedestination of the broadcast. The radio may use GPS coordinates for itscurrent location to determine proximity to an obstruction, for example.The GPS coordinates may be combined with a database retrieval, whereinan obstruction database indexed by location is stored in the database.The radio may receive GPS coordinates for a destination, either byretrieving the coordinates from a database or perhaps through receptionof the coordinates from a separate transmission. The coordinates for thesource and destination may be used to compute a distance, or aspreviously disclosed may be used for determining another conditionrelated to the transmission such as a depth below sea-level,obstructions in the line-of-sight or a location and/or proximity of analternate transmitter or receiver. GPS coordinates, as disclosed herein,can be any indication of a point in geographical terms, includinglatitude and longitude, hours, degrees and minutes, GLONASS coordinates,a radius and a vector, absolute or relative references, etc.

The optional operation 134 includes receiving at least one airtemperature associated with at least one of the transmitter of thebroadcast or the destination of the broadcast. An air temperature may bean ambient air temperature. It may be a measured or a predicted airtemperature. It may be real-time, near real-time or previously recordedtemperature. The temperature may refer to a point at or near thetransmitter, at or near the destination, or any point in between. Thetemperature may be Fahrenheit, Celsius, Kelvin or any other means ofexpressing a temperature.

The optional operation 136 includes receiving at least one atmosphericcondition associated with at least one of the transmitter of thebroadcast or the destination of the broadcast. An atmospheric conditionmay include a temperature, a barometric pressure, a wind condition, aheight of a cloud layer, a thickness of a cloud layer, the number andtype of a plurality of cloud layers, a solar condition, a precipitationcondition, an electrical charge condition, a lightning condition, a sun,moon or other celestial body position relative to the transmitter(wherein the transmitter may be earth-based, in orbit, or in space),sunspots, solar flares, etc. The atmospheric condition may be detectedusing a sensor integrated with or operably coupled with the radio, ormay be received by the radio, or may be read from a database integratedwith or operably connected with the radio. The condition may be apresent condition, a past condition, a future condition or a predictedcondition.

The optional operation 138 includes receiving at least one interferencecondition associated with at least one of the transmitter of thebroadcast or the destination of the broadcast. An interference conditionmay be detected using a sensor integrated with or operably connected tothe radio, or information about the interference condition may bereceived by the radio in a separate transmission, or information aboutthe interference condition may be inferred from a separate transmission,or the interference condition may be found through a database lookupusing a database integrated with the radio or located remotely from theradio. An interference condition may be one or more of a magneticcondition, a crosstalk condition, another transmitter on the samefrequency, a transmitter on an adjacent or nearby frequency withsufficient bandwidth to encroach on the frequency, a differenttransmitter at a higher power, an inadequate shielding condition, etc.

The optional operation 142 includes receiving one or more at leastpartial obstructions associated with at least one path between thetransmitter of the broadcast or the destination of the broadcast. Anobstruction may be detected by the radio, by a sensor integrated with oroperably connected to the radio, or by a remote system which providesthe obstruction information to the radio. An obstruction may be found bysearching a database integrated with the radio or remotely located fromthe radio about possible obstructions nearby. An obstruction may be apermanent obstruction, such as a mountain reaching a particular altitudeor an office building on the street along which a cellular phone user iswalking. Or, an obstruction may be a temporary. For example, a handheldmobile device with an integrated Wi-Fi radio being used in a warehousemay have temporary obstruction conditions as inventory is moved in andout of the warehouse. By accessing a database, the radio can be aware ofa warehouse full of inventory and obstructions between the radio and anaccess point, or the radio can be aware of a warehouse that is emptyhaving relatively few obstructions between the radio and the accesspoint. An obstruction may include a number of interior and/or exteriorwalls in a building. For example, a mobile device with access to adatabase regarding the floor plan for all floors of a building and thelocation of all access points in the building can know how many wallsand/or floors the transmission must pass through to reach the accesspoint. A smartphone with a similar database containing all floor planinformation of all buildings in a city may know how many walls, floors,buildings or other obstructions lie between the smartphone and thecellular tower.

The optional operation 144 includes receiving at least one altitudeassociated with at least one of the transmitter of the broadcast or thedestination of the broadcast. An altitude may be received from GPScoordinates, either from an integrated GPS, Loran, GLONASS, altimeter,or other altitude-providing system integrated into or operably connectedwith the radio. Altitude information about either the transmitter or thedestination for the transmission may be received from a remote source,or through a database lookup. Altitude information combined withobstruction information may provide information regarding the requiredsignal to clear an obstruction as opposed to trying to broadcast throughthe obstruction or by reflection.

The optional operation 146 includes receiving at least one density ofthe medium through which the broadcast is transmitted between thetransmitter of the broadcast and the destination of the broadcast. Themedium may be air in the case of a wireless radio. The medium could alsobe air and water, as in the case of a submarine transmitting to asatellite. The density of the air may vary at different altitudes.Density may also refer to the density of the content of obstructions. Awarehouse full of kitty litter provides much higher density obstructionsthan a warehouse full of bubble-wrap. Density may be assessed by anysensor integrated with or operatively coupled to the radio, including atleast a transmissometer or other device for measuring transmissivity.Density may be obtained by searching a database, for examining thecontent of obstructions in the warehouse in the form of the type ofinventory, for example. Density may also be included in informationreceived from another transmission, or computed based on locationinformation and a projected path of a transmission, including at leastone or more projected reflective paths of a transmission. Density mayrefer to the ability of a non-wireless medium to carry the signal, forexample a capacitance, inductance or resistance of a metal conductor, orthe optical loss associated with an optical medium such as fiber opticcable. Density may be assessed with a time-domain reflectometer, orinformation about breaks in a physical media may be received from adatabase or through a transmission. In some embodiments, density may bedefined as, equivalent to or proportional to transmission capacity.

The optional operation 148 includes receiving from one or more of adatabase associated with the hardware, a sensor associated with thehardware, or at least one other transmission at least one signalingparameter associated with a condition affecting the broadcast. In someembodiments, signaling parameters may be received from sensors eitherintegrated with or operationally connected to the radio. The signalingparameters may be received from a remote sensor via a separatetransmission or via a physical connection. The parameters may representa real-time measurement of a signaling parameter, a near real-timemeasurement, a past measurement or a prediction of a future value of thesignaling parameter. The parameter may be a result of a database search,including searching a database encoded in hardware contained by theradio or operatively coupled with the radio. The database may containstatistical, geographical, topographical or historical information, orany other type of data useful for ascertaining a signaling parameter.Signaling parameters may be estimated using a value derived or measuredfrom a previous or current transmission.

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the operational flow 100of FIG. 1. The operational flow may include one or more of an optionaloperation 152, an optional operation 154, or an optional operation 156,in accordance with various embodiments of the invention. The operationalflow 100 may further include optional operation 170, in accordance witha different embodiment of the invention.

The optional operation 152 includes adjusting one or more signalstrengths for the broadcast. A particular power for a transmission maybe selected which results in a certain signal strength, the signalstrength intended to provide adequate reception of the transmission at adestination or range surrounding the destination. For transmissionswhich involve broadcasting on different frequencies, different powersettings and/or signal strengths may be selected or obtained. Transmitpower or signal strength may result from radio characteristics such as awattage, voltage, current, a type of antenna, radiation, reflectance,resistance, capacitance, inductance, conductance, attenuation, or from adirectional antenna direction, and may be provided in measurements ofdecibel microvolts per meter or milliwatts.

The optional operation 154 includes adjusting one or more frequencybandwidths for the broadcast. A broad selection of bandwidth may beselected to, for example, make up for frequency ranges which arecongested or where selection of transmit power does have the desiredresult. Adjusting one or more frequency bandwidths may include utilizingan additional frequency portion of the spectrum, whether contiguous ornon-continguous.

The optional operation 156 includes adjusting one or more frequenciesfor the broadcast. A particular frequency may be chosen for a particulardestination as assigned by an external entity. For example, selecting aparticular destination airport may result in a database lookup whichchooses a common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) for the airport andselects that frequency. In different embodiments, a frequency is chosenfor optimization of signal strength, antenna characteristics, to reducecongestion or in light of existing use of a particular frequency orneighboring frequency.

The optional flow 100 may include an optional operation 170, whichcontinues the operational flow by including determining at least onealternate destination for the broadcast. Should the operational flowdetermine that a transmission to a particular destination would haveless optimal characteristics than to an alternate destination, one ormore alternate destinations for the transmission may be chosen utilizingthe aforementioned methods or other means.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an operational flow associated withoptimizing broadcasts. FIG. 4 and several following figures may includevarious examples of operations flows, discussions and explanations withrespect to the above-described embodiments. However, it should beunderstood that the operational flows may be executed in a number ofother environments and contexts, and/or in modified versions of FIG. 4.Also, although the various operational flows are illustrated in asequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may beperformed in other orders than those which are illustrated, and/or maybe performed concurrently.

After a start operation, the operational flow 200 includes a receivingoperation 210. The receiving operation receives an area associated withtransmitted broadcasts. The area associated with transmitted broadcastsmay be a range about a particular point of interest to the receivingradio or the operator of the receiving radio. For example, a pilotflying an aircraft to a particular airport who is 15 miles away fromthat airport may be interested in transmissions originating anywherebetween the aircraft and the destination, and within a 12-mile ring ofthe destination. The pilot may not be interested in receivingtransmissions originating from locations outside of that area (from anairport 50 miles behind the aircraft, for example, or from an airport 30miles beyond the destination airport).

The operational flow 200 also includes a determining operation 230. Thedetermining operation determines a minimum signal strength correspondingwith the area. The minimum signal strength may be determined usingtechniques disclosed elsewhere herein. For example, a pilot navigatingto a particular destination airport 15 miles away may only wish to hearsignals with a certain signal strength which corresponds to aircraftradios within the 12-mile ring about the destination airport. Takinginto consideration frequencies for other airports in the vicinity,distances, temperatures, obstructions, altitudes and othercharacteristics, the determining operation correlates a particularsignal strength given a current position relative to the destinationairport which would indicate that a transmission is within the ring.

The operational flow also includes an adjusting operation 250. Theadjusting operation includes adjusting a receive selectivity forfiltering broadcasts below the minimum signal strength. For example, theadjusting operation may affect a squelch control of an aircraft radio,increasing the squelch (increasing the selectivity) to filter outextraneous and lower signal-strength transmissions as the aircraft getscloser to the destination.

At least one of the receiving operation 210, determining operation 230or adjusting operation 250 is at least partially implemented inhardware. The hardware may include selectivity circuitry for whichfiltering transmissions below a particular signal is achieved accordingto the adjusting operation 250. The receiving operation 210 may includea reference to an area by a user, for example, inputting a destinationthrough a keypad integrated with the radio or by using a combination ofknobs and push-buttons. The determining operation 230 may includecomputing, using one or more microprocessors integrated with the radio,given a range of locations, an assumed signal strength, a distance orother signal parameters associated with transmission conditions, asignal strength below which a signal would be so weak that it is assumedto be outside of the area from which transmissions are desired to beheard. The foregoing examples of aspects of the invention which may beat least partially implemented in hardware are exemplary only and meantto be non-limiting.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the operational flow 200of FIG. 4. The operational flow may include one or more of an optionaloperation 212, an optional operation 232, an optional operation 234, oran optional operation 252, in accordance with various embodiments of theinvention.

The optional operation 212 may include determining a geographic rangesurrounding a point for transmitted broadcasts, the geographic rangeincluding points from which transmitted broadcasts are not filtered. Insome embodiments, it may be desirable to hear only broadcasts that areestimated to originate from within a 4-mile ring of a certain point. Indifferent embodiments, it may be desirable to hear broadcasts thatoriginate from within a 30 radius of a certain point. In someembodiments, the determination of the geographic range may not bemeasured by a radius about a certain point, but rather by a set ofgeographic coordinates bounding an area in 3 dimensions, wheretransmissions originating from within the bounded area are desirable andothers are not.

The optional operation 232 may include determining a minimum signalstrength corresponding with the area based at least in part on one ormore of a temperature, an atmospheric condition, a density associatedwith a medium through which the broadcasts are transmitted, a frequencybandwidth, a frequency, an altitude, or an at least partial obstruction.In some embodiments, a broadcast received with a lower signal strengthmay sneak through a desired selectivity setting because overcastconditions permit the weaker signal to be reflected from low clouds. Or,an ambient air temperature may permit a signal to travel farther thannormal, so the selectivity would be automatically increased to raise thethreshold and permitting only transmissions with strong signal strengthcorrelated with close-in transmission to be heard.

The optional operation 234 may include receiving from one or more of adatabase associated with the hardware, a sensor associated with thehardware, or at least one other transmission at least one signalingparameter associated with a condition affecting the broadcast; anddetermining a minimum signal strength corresponding with the area basedat least in part on the at least one signaling parameter, including atleast one or more of a temperature, an atmospheric condition, a densityassociated with a medium through which the broadcasts are transmitted, afrequency bandwidth, a frequency, an altitude, or an at least partialobstruction. A search of an obstruction database, for example, mayreveal that a line of sight between an aircraft and a destinationairport of interest may be clear from a certain point, but obstructedfrom a different point. In such circumstances the operational flow mayalter the threshold signal strength to filter out additional broadcaststhat are not correlated with a location within the desired range. Alightning detector may alternatively detect that lightning is disruptingtransmissions and altering the signal strength of receivedtransmissions, requiring a lowering of the selectivity to permit desiredtransmissions to be received.

The optional operation 252 may include adjusting a receive selectivityfor a receiver based at least in part on the distance between thereceiver and a geographic point. A pilot may only desire to heartransmissions no further than within a ring about a destination airport.As the pilot gets closer to the destination airport, the operationalflow increases the receive selectivity to account for the increasedsignal strength of broadcasts originating closer to the aircraft. Thegoal is to adjust the selectivity to keep the radius within whichbroadcasts that are transmitted may be received constant as the aircraftgets closer to the airport.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system 300 for transmitting or receiving optimizedbroadcasts. The system includes at least one of means for transmitting310 or means for receiving 320. The system also includes means fordetermining 330. The system also includes means for adjusting 350. Othersystem components may be included in various embodiments of system 300consistent with the spirit of this disclosure, including a variety ofsensors, transceivers, databases and/or data stores, etc.

System 300 includes at least one of means 310 for transmitting abroadcast or means 320 for receiving a broadcast.

System 300 includes means 330 for determining at least one signalingparameter associated with a condition affecting the broadcast.

System 300 includes means 350 for adjusting one or more of a signalstrength, a frequency, a frequency bandwidth, a receive sensitivity, ora destination for a broadcast.

FIGS. 7 a and 7 b depict an exemplary environment in which an embodimentof the invention may be implemented. In an exemplary embodiment, theoperational flows described herein may be embodied at least in part in aradio installed in an aircraft, such as exemplary aircraft 10approaching an airport 18. Also near airport 18 is a second aircraft 12.The existence of aircraft 12 is of interest to the pilot of aircraft 10,since aircraft 12 is within 8 miles of the airport to which aircraft 10is going. Also depicted is aircraft 14. Aircraft 14 is at least 28 milesfrom aircraft 10 and its existence may be of no interest whatsoever toaircraft 10. However, all of aircraft 10, 12 and 14 may be transmittingon the same radio frequency. In the case of aircraft 14, it may be boundfor an airport that is not airport 18, but that different airport mayshare the same frequency with aircraft 18. It would be desirable for theradio of aircraft to automatically adjust its selectivity (increase itssquelch) so as to hear only transmissions from aircraft 12 but notaircraft 14.

In some embodiments, using operational methods described within theinstant disclosure, aircraft 10, upon a determination of the distance toairport 18 and receiving an area around airport 18 from which the pilotof aircraft 10 would like to hear originating radio broadcasts, theaircraft radio may select a squelch or selectivity level accordingly.For example, the aircraft radio in aircraft may determine thattransmissions from aircraft within an 8 mile radius of airport 18, giventhe distance between aircraft 10 and airport 18 (and the outer boundaryof its 8 mile ring) will have a particular signal strength n. The radiomay utilize an onboard GPS to determine the location of the aircraft inwhich it is installed. The radio may search a database internal to theradio or operably connected to the radio for the location of the airport18, for the purposes of determining the distance between aircraft 10 andairport 18 and correlating signal strength with distance appropriately.The radio may further adjust the receive sensitivity (the “squelch”) sothat transmissions below the signal strength threshold of n are notheard by the pilot, but transmissions above the threshold are heard bythe pilot.

FIG. 7 a shows aircraft 10 relatively far from the 8-mile ring boundedby boundaries 16. An operational method according to the invention wouldascertain and use the distance as described above, and dynamicallycompute and set a receive selectivity so that broadcasts originatingfrom the outside edge of the 8-mile ring are filtered out. FIG. 7 bshows aircraft 10 relatively nearer to the 8-mile ring bounded byboundaries 16. The operational method according to the invention wouldaccount for the change in location and distance from the airport, updatethe signal strength corresponding to broadcasts within the 8-mile ring(which would be stronger than in FIG. 7 a) and further adjust thereceive sensitivity to filter out transmissions. Note that in FIG. 7 bthat aircraft 14 is closer than in FIG. 7 b, so the selectivity must beincreased to continue to keep its transmissions from being heard. It isintended that the computation of the signal strength correlating totransmissions originating from inside the desired area and correspondingadjustment of the receive selectivity take place continuously, manytimes a second and more rapidly than a human could possibly achieve suchcomputations in order to provide the optimal correlation of signalstrength with receive selectivity.

FIGS. 8 a and 8 b depict an additional exemplary environment in which adifferent embodiment of the invention may be implemented. The aspects ofFIG. 8 a are similar to that described for FIG. 7 a. However, FIG. 8 bdepicts a change in weather conditions, where cloud 20 is now betweenaircraft 10 and aircraft 12 and 14. According to methods describedelsewhere herein, the aircraft radio in aircraft 10 may receivereal-time or near real-time information about atmospheric and/ortemperature conditions, such as the existence of cloud 20. Cloud 20 inthe line of sight between aircraft 10 and aircraft 12 means thattransmissions by aircraft 12 will have a weaker signal strength whenreceived at aircraft 10. Likewise, transmissions by aircraft 14 willhave a weaker signal strength when received at aircraft 10 followingpenetration through cloud 20, or when a reflected signal from aircraft14 is received at aircraft 10. Thus, the methods taught herein allow foradjustment of receive selectivity corresponding to a signal strengththreshold correlated with a desired area from which transmissions are tobe heard. The cloud conditions are sensed or received, the signalstrength threshold for transmissions is lowered and the selectivity isadjusted accordingly.

The examples provided in the descriptions corresponding to FIGS. 7 a, 7b, 8 a and 8 b are strictly non-limiting examples. The methods andsystems described herein may be implemented with reference to anyenvironment, feature, or embodiment taught, suggested or within thespirit of the instant application. No specific applicability orlimitation to aircraft, VHF radio communication, and/or cloud conditionsis intended.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments ofthe systems, apparatus, devices, computer program products, and/orprocesses using block diagrams, flow diagrams, operation diagrams,flowcharts, illustrations, and/or examples. A particular block diagram,operation diagram, flowchart, illustration, environment, and/or exampleshould not be interpreted as having any dependency or requirementrelating to any one or combination of components illustrated therein.For example, in certain instances, one or more elements of anenvironment may be deemed not necessary and omitted. In other instances,one or more other elements may be deemed necessary and added.

Insofar as such block diagrams, operation diagrams, flowcharts,illustrations, and/or examples contain one or more functions and/oroperations, it will be understood that each function and/or operationwithin such block diagrams, operation diagrams, flowcharts,illustrations, or examples can be implemented, individually and/orcollectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, orvirtually any combination thereof unless otherwise indicated. In anembodiment, several portions of the subject matter described herein maybe implemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs),Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors(DSPs), or other integrated formats. However, those skilled in the artwill recognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, inwhole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in circuits, as one ormore computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one ormore programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or moreprograms running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or moreprograms running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or asvirtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitryand/or writing the code for the software and or firmware would be wellwithin the skill of one of skill in the art in light of this disclosure.In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that themechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capable of beingdistributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that anillustrative embodiment of the subject matter described herein appliesregardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium used toactually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearing mediuminclude, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable type mediumsuch as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a DigitalVersatile Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memory, etc.; and atransmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analogcommunication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wiredcommunications link, a wireless communication link, etc.).

Those having skill in the art will recognize that the state of the arthas progressed to the point where there is little distinction leftbetween hardware and software implementations of aspects of systems; theuse of hardware or software is generally (but not always, in that incertain contexts the choice between hardware and software can becomesignificant) a design choice representing cost vs. efficiency tradeoffs.Those having skill in the art will appreciate that there are variousvehicles by which processes and/or systems and/or other technologiesdescribed herein can be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and/orfirmware), and that the preferred vehicle will vary with the context inwhich the processes and/or systems and/or other technologies aredeployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed andaccuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardwareand/or firmware vehicle; alternatively, if flexibility is paramount, theimplementer may opt for a mainly software implementation; or, yet againalternatively, the implementer may opt for some combination of hardware,software, and/or firmware. Hence, there are several possible vehicles bywhich the processes and/or devices and/or other technologies describedherein may be effected, none of which is inherently superior to theother in that any vehicle to be utilized is a choice dependent upon thecontext in which the vehicle will be deployed and the specific concerns(e.g., speed, flexibility, or predictability) of the implementer, any ofwhich may vary. Those skilled in the art will recognize that opticalaspects of implementations will typically employ optically-orientedhardware, software, and or firmware. Those skilled in the art willrecognize that optical aspects of implementations will typically employoptically-oriented hardware, software, and or firmware.

In a general sense, those skilled in the art will recognize that thevarious aspects described herein which can be implemented, individuallyand/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, orany combination thereof can be viewed as being composed of various typesof “electrical circuitry.” Consequently, as used herein “electricalcircuitry” includes, but is not limited to, electrical circuitry havingat least one discrete electrical circuit, electrical circuitry having atleast one integrated circuit, electrical circuitry having at least oneapplication specific integrated circuit, electrical circuitry forming ageneral purpose computing device configured by a computer program (e.g.,a general purpose computer configured by a computer program which atleast partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein,or a microprocessor configured by a computer program which at leastpartially carries out processes and/or devices described herein),electrical circuitry forming a memory device (e.g., forms of randomaccess memory), and/or electrical circuitry forming a communicationsdevice (e.g., a modem, communications switch, or optical-electricalequipment). Those having skill in the art will recognize that thesubject matter described herein may be implemented in an analog ordigital fashion or some combination thereof.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of theappended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.).

It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specificnumber of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intentwill be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of suchrecitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use ofdefinite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, evenif a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitlyrecited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitationshould typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations).

Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “atleast one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a constructionis intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understandthe convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C”would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone,C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A,B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general sucha construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one ofA, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood toinclude the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

The herein described aspects depict different components containedwithin, or connected with, different other components. It is to beunderstood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, andthat in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achievethe same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement ofcomponents to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated”such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any twocomponents herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can beseen as “associated with” each other such that the desired functionalityis achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components.Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being“operably connected,” or “operably coupled,” to each other to achievethe desired functionality. Any two components capable of being soassociated can also be viewed as being “operably couplable” to eachother to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples ofoperably couplable include but are not limited to physically mateableand/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactableand/or wirelessly interacting components.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, otheraspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes ofillustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scopeand spirit being indicated by the following claims.

1.-23. (canceled)
 24. A method, comprising: determining a destinationfor a broadcast from a mobile transmitter; receiving at least onesignaling parameter associated with a condition affecting the broadcast;and adjusting at least one broadcasting parameter for optimizingreception of the broadcast at the destination based at least in part onthe at least one signaling parameter, wherein at least one of thedetermining, receiving or adjusting is at least partially implemented inhardware.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein determining a destinationfor a broadcast from a mobile transmitter comprises: determining ageographic range surrounding a point for reception of a broadcast. 26.The method of claim 24, wherein receiving at least one signalingparameter associated with a condition affecting the broadcast comprises:receiving GPS coordinates associated with at least one of the mobiletransmitter or the destination of the broadcast.
 27. The method of claim24, wherein receiving at least one signaling parameter associated with acondition affecting the broadcast comprises: receiving at least one airtemperature associated with at least one of the mobile transmitter orthe destination of the broadcast.
 28. The method of claim 24, whereinreceiving at least one signaling parameter associated with a conditionaffecting the broadcast comprises: receiving at least one atmosphericcondition associated with at least one of the mobile transmitter or thedestination of the broadcast.
 29. The method of claim 24, whereinreceiving at least one signaling parameter associated with a conditionaffecting the broadcast comprises: receiving at least one interferencecondition associated with at least one of the mobile transmitter or thedestination of the broadcast.
 30. The method of claim 24, whereinreceiving at least one signaling parameter associated with a conditionaffecting the broadcast comprises: receiving one or more at leastpartial obstructions associated with at least one path between themobile transmitter and the destination of the broadcast.
 31. The methodof claim 24, wherein receiving at least one signaling parameterassociated with a condition affecting the broadcast comprises: receivingat least one altitude associated with at least one of the mobiletransmitter or the destination of the broadcast.
 32. The method of claim24, wherein receiving at least one signaling parameter associated with acondition affecting the broadcast comprises: receiving at least onedensity of the medium through which the broadcast is transmitted betweenthe mobile transmitter and the destination of the broadcast.
 33. Themethod of claim 24, wherein receiving at least one signaling parameterassociated with a condition affecting the broadcast comprises: receivingfrom one or more of a database associated with the mobile transmitter, asensor associated with the mobile transmitter, or at least one othertransmission at least one signaling parameter associated with acondition affecting the broadcast.
 34. The method of claim 24, whereinadjusting at least one broadcasting parameter for optimizing receptionof the broadcast at the destination comprises: adjusting one or moresignal strengths for the broadcast.
 35. The method of claim 24, whereinadjusting at least one broadcasting parameter for optimizing receptionof the broadcast at the destination comprises: adjusting one or morefrequency bandwidths for the broadcast.
 36. The method of claim 24,wherein adjusting at least one broadcasting parameter for optimizingreception of the broadcast at the destination comprises: adjusting oneor more frequencies for the broadcast.
 37. The method of claim 24,further comprising: determining at least one alternate destination forthe broadcast.
 38. The method of claim 24, wherein the mobiletransmitter is at least one of a cellular telephone or a smartphone. 39.The method of claim 24, wherein determining a destination for abroadcast from a mobile transmitter, receiving at least one signalingparameter associated with a condition affecting the broadcast, andadjusting at least one broadcasting parameter for optimizing receptionof the broadcast at the destination based at least in part on the atleast one signaling parameter comprise: receiving an indication of acellular tower for a transmission from a smartphone to the cellulartower; obtaining an indication of a geographic range about the indicatedcellular tower within which the transmission is to be received;determining a transmission power for the transmission from thesmartphone to the cellular tower, including at least optimizing at leastone level of the transmission power for transmitting the signal suchthat the signal is received with sufficient signal quality within thegeographic range about the indicated cellular tower.
 40. The method ofclaim 39, wherein determining a transmission power for the transmissionfrom the smartphone to the cellular tower, including at least optimizingat least one level of the transmission power for transmitting the signalsuch that the signal is received with sufficient signal quality withinthe geographic range about the indicated cellular tower comprises:extending battery life of the smartphone via utilizing a reducedtransmission power for transmissions from the smartphone to the cellulartower wherein a distance between the smartphone and the cellular towerdoes not require a full-power transmission by the smartphone fortransmissions to be received with sufficient signal quality at thecellular tower.
 41. The method of claim 39, wherein determining atransmission power for the transmission from the smartphone to thecellular tower, including at least optimizing at least one level of thetransmission power for transmitting the signal such that the signal isreceived with sufficient signal quality within the geographic rangeabout the indicated cellular tower comprises: determining a transmissionpower for the transmission from the smartphone to the cellular tower,including at least determining the transmission power based at least inpart on a location of the smartphone determined via one or more GPSsensors of the smartphone and determining the transmission power basedat least in part on a location of the cellular tower determined viaquerying a database of cellular tower stored by the smartphone.
 42. Amethod, comprising: obtaining a destination for a broadcast from amobile transmitter; determining an initial value for a transmit power ofthe broadcast from the mobile transmitter to the destination; receivingat least one parameter associated with a condition affecting thebroadcast; and modifying the initial value of the transmit power of thebroadcast from the mobile transmitter to the destination based at leastin part on the received at least one parameter, wherein at least one ofthe obtaining, determining, receiving, or modifying is at leastpartially implemented in hardware.
 43. A method, comprising: obtaining alocation of a destination for a signal from a mobile transmitter;determining a distance from the mobile transmitter to the destination;and determining an initial value for a transmit power of the signal fromthe mobile transmitter to the destination based at least in part on thedetermined distance; determining one or more obstructions within atleast one proximity of at least one of the mobile transmitter or thedestination via at least querying a database of one or more obstructionsin an area associated with the signal; modifying the initial value ofthe transmit power of the signal from the mobile transmitter to thedestination based at least in part on at least some data associated withone or more of the determined obstructions within the at least oneproximity; and utilizing the modified transmit power of the mobiletransmitter for the signal to ensure at least partial reception of thesignal at the destination based at least in part on the at least somedata associated with the one or more of the determined obstructionswithin the at least one proximity.